Plans for an unused downtown building, further expansion of another and an oversized check will all be unveiled Thursday at a special downtown Statesboro event highlighting economic development. Local, state and national leaders will be on hand as Georgia Southern University and the city of Statesboro officially announce Thursday that they have been jointly awarded a grant of nearly $1.1 million from the U.S. Economic Development Administration to expand the university's City Campus on East Main Street to help entrepreneurs design, build and send their products into the marketplace while creating new jobs. "This grant will go a long way in helping us foster a culture of innovation and creation in Statesboro," said Dominique Halaby, the director of the Bureau for Business Research and Economic Development, or BBRED, and the central figure responsible for obtaining the award.